Wakatobi

Wakatobi is a small archipelago, regency, and national park in South East Sulawesi in Indonesia.

Understand
Wakatobi is well known among divers as one of the world's best dive sites. The name is an acronym of the four largest islands in the area: Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomea, and Binongko. Wakatobi forms a regency, of which the capital is Wangiwangi. The regency is also a national park.

Get in
Most travel to Wakatobi departs from Kendari and arrives in Wangi-Wangi, either by boat or plane.

By plane
You can fly into Wangi-Wangi (also known as Wakatobi, airport code WNI) by plane operated by Wings Air from Kendari. As of 2024 there are two flights a week, namely on Monday and Friday, which can only be booked on the Lion Air website. Flight prices vary, but are usually around IDR 1,000,000/person or US$100/person. The logistically quickest way to reach Wangi-Wangi would be to first fly to Makassar (Bandar Udara), then to Kendari and afterwards to Wangi-Wangi / Wakatobi.

Be aware that the airport on Wangi-Wangi is on the exact opposite side of the island to its only city, and that there is no public transport available. If you've booked ahead at a resort, they will probably have someone waiting for you. Otherwise, someone at the airport can call a taxi or ojek for you: you will have to wait for around thirty minutes for it to arrive before starting your thirty-minute-long journey into town. An ojek costs IDR 50,000.



Some divers also arrive on Tomia Island of Wakatobi via the exclusive Wakatobi Resort's scheduled chartered flights from Bali, but this is not a necessary precursor to diving at Pulau Tomia.



By boat
For travelers with more time and a smaller budget there is a ferry connecting Kendari to Wangi-Wangi. It usually departs beginning at 09:00 AM from the Wanci port of Kendari (just slightly east on the northern end of the Kendari Bay Bridge / Jembatan Teluk Kendari). The ferry takes about 10 hours to reach Wangi-Wangi and there are different boats and operators, such as KFC Jetliner(Pelni), KM Aksar Saputra and KM Al Sudais, each with different departure dates. The ticket price is around IDR 86,000/person for KFC Jetliner and other boats IDR 200,000/person.



Alternatively it is also possible to reach Wangi-Wangi from Bau-Bau on Buton Island. Sadly, as of 2024, there are no boats anymore departing directly from the city of Bau-Bau, but instead at least a 1 hours drive away from either the town of Pasarwajo or from the town of Kamaru. You have to take a taxi or shared car from Bau-Bau to one of these two ports (Pasarwajo is closer). From Pasarwajo to Wangi-Wangi it approximately takes 3 hours, from Kamaru about 5 hours. The ferry ticket prices are approx. IDR 80,000 – IDR 150,000/person.



When arriving on Wangi-Wangi (which depending on the ferry will be either at the Panggulubelo Port in Wanci or at the Numana fishing port a bit south of it) you can take an ojek to your accomodation. Usually there are always ojek drivers waiting for incoming ferries.

By boat
The Cantika fast boat connects the main islands of Pulau Wangi-Wangi, Pulau Kaledupa and Pulau Tomia on a rolling schedule, leaving from each island every two to three days. There is no shortage of smaller boats connecting the various islands, so on any given day you should be able to move from one island to another. It's best to just ask around (for example, at your accommodation reception) a day or two before you want to travel.

On the official Wakatobi Tourism website there is also boat schedule with information about the departure times and which piers to go, but the schedules on Wakatobi Island are subject to change in the dynamic Wakatobi. Also note that some boats cannot depart on bad or stormy weather, meaning that you should always bring a good amount of flexiblity with you, especially when leaving Wakatobi for catching any flights.

By ojek
On the main islands, ojeks (motorcycle drivers) are easy to flag down on any main road or harbour and usually cost around IDR 5,000 - IDR 20,000 for a short trip, such as from a hotel to the harbour.

By scooter
You could also ask at your accomodation or at some rental shops in Wanci for a scooter, a fine way to explore the islands.

Scuba Diving
Scuba Diving at Wakatobi is excellent, with a high diversity of corals, rich marine life, and very few divers relative to more popular Indonesian marine parks such as Komodo National Park and Bunaken National Park. The best diving in Wakatobi is around Pulau Tomia, although excellent coral diving is also possible around Pulau Hoga, a small island near Pulau Kaledupa. People also dive from Pulau Wangi-Wangi.

Snorkelling
Snorkelling in Wakatobi can be just as good as Scuba Diving, provided you enter the correct spot and stay safe. While some accomodations may have snorkel equipment for rent, rather don't count on it and take your own with you to Wakatobi. Some snorkelling spots are subject of strong currents, so always take precautions or go there with someone on a boat.

Motorcycling

 * Tour the islands by motorbike, WangiWangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, Binongko. You can rent motorcycles at Jelly in WangiWangi, at Villa MM in Kaledupa, at Labore stay in Tomia, as well as at Anjungan Busoa in Binongko. It's fun to cruise the islands and see village life. In Tomia there are serveral forts that can be visited and some nice beaches. You can get a map of Tomia showing all attractions at Labore Stay.

Eat
There are various Warung and small restaurants on Wakatobi, mainly in the respective main towns of the four islands.

Sleep
Most of the accomodations on Wakatobi are centered in the respective main towns of the islands, with some individual resorts scattered around.

Stay safe
Be careful when snorkelling independently - some snorkel spots are subject to strong currents. Inform yourself at local dive shops, or hire a boat driver who can watch over you while you are snorkelling.

Go next

 * Kendari, take either a flight from Wangi-Wangi (WNI) to Kendari (twice a week, every Monday and Friday) or a ferry from Wangi-Wangi to the Wanci Port of Kendari
 * Bau-Bau, take a ferry from Wangi-Wangi to Bau-Bau on Buton Island
 * Makassar, then to the north to see Butterfly Paradise in Bantimurung Waterfall area and then spend a few nights in Tanah Toraja.